Wednesday, August 16, 2006

This and That, and Maybe I have some Anger Management Issues

I have spoken once more with my friend B~, and several times with B~' s mom and brother. B~'s husband, J~, came through the surgery. There was a complication, the surgeons feel they dealt with the issue, but say, "he is not through the woods yet." I am trying to send good thoughts and prayers in the general direction of Sydney, and hoping for the best. B~ did laugh at one point, because she said they kept telling her that J~ was still 'in the theatre' (i.e. operating theatre) and she said, "boy, that's a play I NEVER want tickets to." I think it's a good sign she was able to laugh for a second.

_____________

One of the partners in my firm was threatened this morning by a defendant in a civil case. (The partner from my firm was representing the plaintiff, a large bank.) Things got ugly when the jduge ruled against the defendant and in our favor, and threats were made. The defendant was "escorted" from the building by security. I was in another courtroom, just finishing up a short, boring hearing, when the partner came to find me. He had two security guards with him. The security guards were insisting on escorting us to our car, except that we had walked the 8 blocks from our firm to the courthouse. The deputies insisted that we call someone from our firm to pick us up, because the defendant was standing across the street from the courthouse and they did not want him to follow J~ (the partner from my firm) and try to make good on his veiled threats. (The defendant was a militiaman, who was insisting that the Note and Mortgage attached to his house were illegal and moot. Some crazy business.) So, anyway, we had to call another attorney from our firm to come get us, and the security guards escorted us to the car. It was surreal. I've never had an armed guard before. The doors into our offices are locked and the security guard in the lobby of our building took the name of our firm off the building directory for the next 48 hours or so. Just...bizarre.

______________________

I was totally and completely outrage by a letter to the editor in our local paper this morning. The writer, who, I honestly don't think makes a lot of sense, states,

Walter Cronkite is still taking credit for helping us lose the Vietnam War. Nice going, Walter. You are a wonderful patriot.
Isn't it amazing how we lost the war without losing the battle? If it weren't for the steadfastness of George Bush, we would have already lost in Iraq the same way, with the help of the same breed.
If the left can invent a word like McCarthyism to quell anti-Communism, why don't we give "Uncle" his due and coin a word like "Cronkitis" to define leftist journalism?
I just finished reading Bamboo Gulag. It's mostly first-person accounts of what happened to the South Vietnamese people after the fall of Saigon. Yes, Virginia, there was a bloodbath. I'm sure it was never mentioned in the New York Times. These people now live in a hopeless situation where their only hope is to acquire some form of watercraft and escape, possibly to America.




I read this and white hot fury crawled through me. First and foremost, I wondered, WHY WOULD OUR NEWSPAPER PUBLISH SUCH A DISJOINTED POINTLESS MESS? and then, HOW DARE HE? HOW DARE HE CALL MY DAUGHTER'S PEOPLE HOPELESS? I wanted to find him and throw eggs at his house. I showed the letter to Husband. He took larger issue with the implication that the media is responsible for what is happening in Iraq, and I was like, 'HUSBAND!! He is calling our daughter's countrymen hopeless!! He is calling them "these people"!! Who does he think he is???!!??"

And honestly, does he believe the Vietnamese are still escaping Vietnam in boats? (And I am not discounting the tragedy of the Vietnam War, or the plight of the boat people, which was very very dire, about which you can read here http://www.vietka.com/) - I am just truly wondering what decade this a** is living in and who the hell he thinks he is to pass judgment about it.

So, it's possible I am hypersensitive right now, to anything referencing Vietnam, or possibly I need some kind of anger management. It's also probably good that the letter writer lives in a neighborhood far far away from mine, so I will not be tempted to go lob eggs at him.

LM

4 Comments:

Blogger Jenny said...

I am caustiosly optomistic for your friend and I am sorry this idiot pissed you off......!

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 10:35:00 PM  
Blogger RollerCoaster said...

My P&PT are with you and your friend. You have been through the ringer these past couple of days and I hope things turn around very very soon!

Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:49:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that your friend made it through the surgery, though the "not out of the woods" part is worrisome. We'll still keep a good thought for your friend and her family.

And isn't it weird how civil defendants are sometimes far crazier (and -- dare I say it -- uncivil?) than criminal Ds? So sorry you had to deal with that.

Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:05:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Re: the editorial... Sounds like the writer got the VN war and the Korean war confused... the N. Koreans are rather hopeless, I think. The Vietnamese's situation seems to be improving every year.

(and please ignore the fact I am reading blogs while on our mini-vacation... yes, I am addicted and clearly need a 12 step program...)

Thursday, August 17, 2006 8:01:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Free Hit Counter
Get a Free Hit Counter